How many of us have been told that we are incapable of running because it does damage to our joints or we just get injured too often? In his book, “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and
the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.”, Christopher McDougall states his past of extreme sports and life endangering journalistic assignments, but yet he was often injured from just jogging 2-3 miles. Most of that jogging was also done on back country dirt roads not pavement.
Through much research and the study of the Tarahumara tribes he was able to find his ability to run. His body, as been told was never to run, was truly Born to Run!
Many of us can find the love and passion for running if we just hold to appropriate form and biomechanics. Our bodies are designed to take the stress and pressure of running if that stress and pressure is applied in the appropriate places. Many methods have arisen as of late to bring runners back to their natural form. These methods invite runners to often run barefoot or use a very minimalist style running shoe similar to the Five Fingers from Vibram. The advantage of these approaches is in the way the runner approaches the ground. He is more often utilizing his midfoot to strike the ground instead of heel striking. This will then allow the muscles in the body to take on the pressure instead of the joints.
Running can continue to be a very enjoyable and uplifting experience for everyone no matter how old or how young. Many are latching onto this rapidly growing barefoot running movement because they have experienced decreased injury rates, increased endurance, and overall more enjoyment with running. There are still many out there that do not want to hit the pavement with nothing between themselves and the ground, if this describes you then you should look at a minimalist or low profile style shoe similar to the Vibram Five Fingers, Mizuno Wave, or even utilize racing flats (the issue with the latter is they won’t tend to last very long).
Much of this will take some time as you engage in minimalist/barefoot running. You will have to strengthen your feet, your ankles, and various other leg muscles that you may not be used to utilizing. We have noticed an increase in Soleus (Muscle in the Calf) pain for the first couple of weeks, but it really has not taken active runners much time to adapt at all, plus for an individual that is just getting back into running there is not going to be much more muscle pain than running in the first place, but they will have reduced joint pain overall. Many that we have worked with have found their love for running again through using proper biomechanics.
We hope that the information we provide through www.Barefoot-Running.com can help you learn to improve your running experience by taking advantage of the barefoot running movement the best way for you specifically.
